Monday, July 25, 2011

Orval

Another Trappist beer today. This time it's Orval. It comes in an elegant 330mL brown bottle. It has 6.9% alcohol/vol. It also has a best-before date which is sometime after the apocalypse. It even shows you the correct glass to use on the label. Unfortunately, I only have a pilsner glass.

When opened, the beer smelled like a fortified wine. There is a distinctive sweetness to it. No hoppiness. When poured, an enormous head formed. I've never had a beer with more problems with controlling the amount of head when poured. The beer had a fruity smell to it, and retained its fortified wine aroma. As the bottle was bottle conditioned, there was a slight yeasty haze in the beer. The beer itself had a strong copper colour to it. An insane amount of small bubbles.

The first sip was amazing. The beer was soft in the mouth, with a very complex taste. There was a lot going on with my tastebuds. The high alcohol content gave a warmth to it in the aftertaste. The beer was not very malty or hoppy. More fruity in flavour. A hint of caramel.

This beer is definitely something everybody should try. I'm placing it at the top of my list.

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